Home›Figures›Historicity›Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBrowse ByLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThis page groups figures by whether scholars consider them to have actually existed. Wikipedia notes that "the historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status." Browsing by historicity lets a visitor separate a documented historical person from one known only through legend.FactsLearn MoreLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsStructureStructureWell-attestedNamed figures of a tradition's sacred narrative who are not worshipped as gods, grouped by role, prophets, apostles, saints, sages, founders, kings, heroes and their adversaries among them. Where a tradition draws the line between a god and a revered non-divine figure differs, and in several it is internally disputed, so this category's boundary is not the same everywhere. 1OverviewPeoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedA cover heading. The traditions gathered under it each have their own vocabulary for these figures, navi in Hebrew, nabi and rasul in Arabic, apostolos in Christian Greek, rishi and guru in India, arhat and bodhisattva in Buddhism, Tirthankara in Jainism, and no one of those words is a translation of another. 1Learn MoreFigures of Sacred Narrative This category holds the named figures of scripture, myth and legend who are not themselves gods: prophets, patriarchs and matriarchs, apostles and disciples, saints, sages, founders, kings, heroes and heroines, and their adversaries, demons, monsters and titans. They are the persons who act within a tradition's sacred story without being worshipped as divine. The boundary with deity is drawn differently in different traditions and is sometimes internally disputed. A figure may be a revered but wholly human teacher in one community and an object of devotion approaching worship in another, and the atlas notes such cases rather than forcing a single classification.Confession and history For many of these figures the tradition's account and the historical record diverge, and the atlas keeps the two distinct. It reports what a tradition holds about its prophets, saints and heroes, their role in the narrative and their principal associations, while noting, where relevant, what historians can and cannot establish about a figure's existence or life. The characters group by kind (prophets, apostles, saints, heroes, demons, valkyries, bodhisattvas and the rest), so a reader can move through the personnel of sacred story by type. Some are dual-modelled with a deity or historical-figure page and are kept complementary.Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordFilter Results139 entriesPlace of OriginAllAksum (2)Anatolia and Asia Minor (1)Ancient Israel (11)Ancient Rome (2)Britain (3)British Isles (1)Canaan (1)China (1)Egypt (1)England (1)Greece (13)India (24)Japan (2)Mesoamerica (2)Mesopotamia (3)Persia (2)Scandinavia (3)Southeast Asia (2)The Andes (1)Yorubaland (1)TraditionAllAncient Greek Religion (12)Aztec Religion (1)Buddhism (2)Celtic Paganism (5)Chinese Folk Religion (2)Christianity (11)Gnosticism (1)Hinduism (28)Inca Religion (1)Islam (2)Jainism (22)Judaism (26)Korean Muism (1)Latter Day Saint Movement (2)Maya Religion (2)Mesopotamian Religion (1)Norse Paganism (5)Roman Religion (3)Shinto (2)Vietnamese Folk Religion (2)Yorùbá Religion (Ifá) (1)Zoroastrianism (3)Office HeldAllKing at Indraprastha, and after the war at Hastinapura (1)King of Kosala, ruling at Ayodhya (1)Queen of the Shakyas, wife of Suddhodana of Kapilavastu (1)Member OfAllThe Kauravas (1)The Pandavas (5)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (77)Historically attested; no continuous cult (2)No Cult Attested (15)Revered InAllAncient Greek Religion (1)Ancient Mesopotamian Religion (1)Ancient Roman Religion (1)Baha'i Faith (3)Buddhism (3)Christianity (16)Hinduism (15)Islam (8)Jainism (21)Judaism (13)Mesoamerican Religion (2)Paganism (1)Santeria (Lucumi) (3)Shinto (2)Yahwism (1)Yoruba Religion (1)Zoroastrianism (3)Lifespan Start YearAll-2333 (1)-1300 (1)-1009 (1)-1000 (1)-753 (1)-752 (1)505 (1)1200 (1)Child OfAllAdam (1)Dasharatha (2)Eve (1)Isaac (1)Jacob (8)Joseph son of Jacob (1)Leto (1)Rachel (1)Tantalus (1)Zeus (3)Manner Of DeathAllAttained liberation (moksha) (22)Died by accident or misadventure (3)Died by suicide (1)Died of natural causes (6)Disputed (4)Executed (1)Extrajudicial killing: put to death outside any lawful process (2)Killed in battle (11)Martyred (4)Sati: ritual self-immolation upon a spouse's death (1)Taken up without dying, as the tradition holds (5)GenderAllCollective / plural, not a single figure (2)Female (30)Male (104)CanonizationAllCult reduced to local calendars in the 1969 revision (2)Formally canonized (1)Pre-Congregation: venerated before any formal process existed (7)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 139AbhinandananathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAchillesLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAdamLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAeneasLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAjitanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAmaterasuLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAnantanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordApolloLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAranathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordArjunaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAtriLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordÂu CơLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBalaamLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBarbaraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBathshebaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBellerophonLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBenjaminLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBeowulfLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBharadvajaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBhimaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBhishmaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBrynhildLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCainLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordChandraprabhaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordChristopherLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCu ChulainnLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDangunLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDasharathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDharmakaraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDharmanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDinahLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDraupadiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDuryodhanaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordEmperor OjinLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordEnochLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordEphraimLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordEsauLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordEstherLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordEveLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordFeridunLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGadLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGebre MeskelLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGoliathLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGritsamadaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGuinevereLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHagarLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHamanLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHeraclesLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHigh John The ConquerorLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHolikaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHouyiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordIssacharLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordJasonLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordJoseph of NazarethLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKarnaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKing BenjaminLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKing VirataLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKrishnaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKunthunathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLac Long QuanLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLakshmanaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLalita TripurasundariLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLancelotLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLehiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLilithLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLonginusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMahabaliLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMallinathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordManco CapacLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordManuLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMayaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMedeaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMordecaiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMordredLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMorgan le FayLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMunisuvrataLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNakulaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNaminathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNaphtaliLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNasruddinLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNeminathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNimrodLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNiobeLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNoahLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNuma PompiliusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOdinLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOduduwaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOdysseusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOedipusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOrpheusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOur Lady of Charity of El CobreLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOur Lady of MercyLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOur Lady of ReglaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordPadmaprabhaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordPerseusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordPushpadantaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordRachelLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordRamaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordReubenLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordRishabhanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordRomulusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSahadevaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSaint YaredLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSambhavanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSavitriLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSebastianLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordShantinathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordShitalanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordShreyanasanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSigrdrifaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSigrunLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSigurdLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSimeonLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSitaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSumatinathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSun WukongLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSuparshvanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSurapadmanLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordTantalusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThe DajjalLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThe Demiurge (Yaldabaoth)Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThe KauravasLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThe PandavasLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThe Queen of ShebaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordTheseusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordTopiltzin Ce Acatl QuetzalcoatlLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordUtnapishtimLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordValmikiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVamadevaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVasupujyaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVeronicaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVimalanathaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVishtaspaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVishvamitraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVucub HunahpuLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordXquicLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordYudhishthiraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordZahhakLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordZebulunLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordConnectionsShowing the first 400 of 577 connections.Sources1. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005The classification of religious figuresView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Hooker, Thomas (1586 to 1647) (Dictionary of National Biography, 1885 to 1900)tier 1Dictionary of National Biography contributors, Smith, Elder and Co.; Wikisource transcription consulted directlyEntries in This Category: Thomas HookerView the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.